Plane Makes Emergency Landing After Passenger's Device Catches Fire; 4 Rushed To Hospital

A United Airlines flight heading to New Jersey returned to California's San Diego International Airport after a small fire broke out inside the cabin.

The plane made an emergency landing, and four people were taken to the hospital because of the fire, which officials said was caused by an external battery pack.

Flight 2664 took off from San Diego at around 7:07 a.m. Pacific Time and was making its way to the Newark Liberty International Airport when a passenger's external battery pack caught fire.

Cabin crew members managed to contain the fire by placing the battery in a special fire bag. The Boeing 737 turned around and made an emergency landing back in San Diego at 7:51 a.m., CNN reported.

Four people onboard were taken to the hospital and two refused hospital treatment.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spokesperson Ian Gregor told the outlet that it was a laptop battery that caused the fire.

"The FAA will investigate," Gregor told the outlet.

Passengers spoke to CBS 8 and said the fire started in the first class section of the aircraft.

Caroline Lipinski said she was sitting in the front row of the first class when smoke started coming out of a bag, belonging to a passenger seated behind her.

"I'm shaking, I'm shaking," Lipinski told the outlet. "There was smoke in the cabin, I was terrified. I didn't know what was happening."

Lipinski said she heard people yelling "smoke" shortly after the flight took off.

"[I] turned around and a gentleman, his bag was smoking," she continued. "He threw something on the ground and it was a battery charger pack or something from his laptop, it burst into fire."

"The cabin was completely flooded with smoke," Lipinski added.

Stephan Jones, a retired cop who was seated a few rows away, said the carpet caught fire.

"Some [passengers] were gasping, screaming," he said. "The guy next to me ran to the back of the plane. Flight attendants were grabbing fire extinguishers and running to the front."

The people taken to the hospital included flight attendants, who prevented the fire from spreading.

The airline released a statement and praised its crew for "prioritizing the safety" of people onboard.

"United flight 2664 safely returned to San Diego after a customer's battery pack ignited. Our crew acted quickly to contain the device and medical personnel met the aircraft upon arrival at the gate," read the statement. "Several flight attendants were taken to the hospital as a precaution and two customers were evaluated onsite. We thank our crew for their quick actions in prioritizing the safety of everyone on board the aircraft and we are making arrangements to get our customers to their destinations."